Recent flooding tough for residents in older Pueblo neighborhood
During Monday night’s storm, one of the older neighborhoods in Pueblo saw a familiar sight — heavy flooding and damages to their property.
Some of the worst floodings in the area occurred at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and Northern Avenue in the Bessemer neighborhood of Pueblo. People living in the area tell KRDO flooding occurs every time the area is hit by a big storm, up to four times a year.
“This is the first good rain we got and look what happened,” says resident Tony Snyder. Snyder’s home is located right on the corner of the Wabash and Northern. He is less than surprised to see Monday’s storm lead to rising waters in the street.
“The drains themselves can’t handle all of the water,” said Snyder. “Therefore, it floods the whole entire area.”
Snyder says the rising water damaged his basement and his yard. He says the neighbor’s properties were also left damaged when the water receded. According to Snyder, those waters finally receded an hour after rainfall initially hit Monday.
However, it isn’t just residential homes dealing with the flooding problem at Wabash and Northern. Businesses across the street from Snyder have been dealing with this issue for even longer.
“The water actually went all the way through the building from the garage all the way through,” recalls Deborah Channel. Her business on Northern Avenue has been flooded three times since she started the business nearly twenty years ago with her husband.
Channel says they have had countless scares over the years. So much so that her husband decided to take extra precautions against future flooding in the business.
“My husband actually made a board for our door,” says Channel. “That’s the only reason we didn’t flood on Monday.”
Jeff Bailey, acting director of Pueblo Public Works says older parts of town are more susceptible to flooding, especially because of the smaller drainage systems. Bailey says replacing the system would cost the city millions of dollars it simply doesn’t have right now.
Bailey says one of the largest causes of flooding in residential neighborhoods is the drains get clogged up with various debris. He urges people to keep a close eye on what goes into the drains so they can run more smoothly when a big storm hits.
Snyder has lived on his property four years, and he says he is ready to voice his frustration to the city.
“I was talking to my wife and we are probably going to end up talking to someone about this,” said Snyder. “This is getting ridiculous. Enough is enough.”
